Review: The Night is Mine by M.L. Buchman

Publisher: Sourcebooks
Where did you get the book: e-ARC
Release date:

First in a thrilling military romantic suspense series based on the real-life elite helicopter pilots who transport Navy SEALs and Delta Force teams in and out of combat and covert missions. (SOAR are the heroes of Black Hawk Down.)

Buchman’s heroine flys the most dangerous military ops and tries to find the one man who can be a hero in her own life. Ace-pilot Captain Emily Beale goes undercover as bodyguard to the First Lady, with her rugged commander, Major Mark Henderson, who is determined to cover her back. Can she learn to keep her desire at bay before her covert mission implodes?

*blurb taken from Goodreads*

This review contains MAJOR spoilers, so be forewarned.

When I read the premise of this at Netgalley, it really caught my attention because I wondered how can there be a romance with the heroine’s commander without both loosing their positions and getting in trouble? The start of The Night is Mine was really strong, and I really enjoyed reading about the military aspects of the Night Stalkers, and it was great seeing a strong powerful female featuring in such a male dominant workplace as the Captain.

But what started out so strong turned into a unbelievable plot that honestly had me double taking at what I was reading. Emily who pilots and goes into special forces missions is summoned from her station, and is ordered to become the First Lady’s special chef and bodyguard after the First Lady sees a television interview where Emily is shown cooking. All of Emily’s abilities as a pilot and being the only woman there are not mentioned. First off, that plot about only showing her as a cook I DOUBT very much would happen because it practically screams sexism so much that the insult given to the heroine when she’s putting her life on the line for her country, no TV station would do that. And secondly, the TV station in question is CNN. So that I found hard to believe. But please be warned, there are many things I find hard to believe in this book.

Secondly, that the First Lady has the power to remove Emily from her position to become her personal chef had my eyebrows raised so high I thought they’d be soon in my hairline. You see, the First Lady has had an assignation attempt on her life, and she doesn’t trust the secret service so when she sees Emily on that insulting TV interview, she tells them she wants Emily to guard her whilst cooking for her. And this is also allowed to happen because Emily mother’s and Father are important in scheme of politics with her Mother being a federal judge and Emily’s father as the Director of the FBI.

Oh, and within all this Emily has to deal with her attraction for her Commander, Mark, where before she leaves, he kisses her. Just like that. He kisses her and risks his job and hers. We’re told they have an attraction to one another, but there was no connection or chemistry between them. And it becomes even more unbelievable when Emily at The White House flies a helicopter with the First Lady in it, and a missile is launched at them from the unseen enemy and hits the helicopter, temporarily blinding and injuring Emily. And Mark, her commander, is on mission when someone casually over the radio informs him when he’s currently ‘blasting the enemies’ that Emily was in an accident….

Now I couldn’t believe what I was reading, so I emailed E and asked her is this at all realistic. And she reliably informs me and I quote, “OMGWTFBBQ?!?!?!?”. Also, I’ve been told it’s extremely unlikely that a female pilot would ever be allowed in SOAR. So while I take in that this is fiction, the way it’s played out I find to be quite insulting in the sense of the ridiculousness of the plot in a military setting where it goes beyond the pale of real military life. I was expecting a heroine in serious military combat, and got the most ridiculous plot.

The book also has long periods of where nothing happens, and when something does happen, it’s so over the top that I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Whilst Emily is laying in the hospital bed after the missile attack, her and Mark do the dirty (without going all the way) in the room. It was so sudden and so unsexy that I really had a hard time believing in any sort of believable romance between them. And having the hero really ogle the First Lady is so unromantic to the point where he’s aware of her is just slimy. Yet the smile of Emily in the next instance wipes all thoughts of the First Lady from his brain. Nice.

This is a quote where Mark sees the First Lady:

“The First Lady was Hot. With a capital H! She packed a one- two punch of raw sexuality that maybe Beale had missed, but it hit his testosterone head on. This was a mature woman with a body built to last. Long, flowing red hair and cream skin right out of any man’s fantasy. And tall . Almost as tall as Beale. With powerful curves that strained and pressed against the imagination.

“Is this him?” Katherine Matthews closed in until they were inches apart and her perfume filled his brain. Not some spicy new scent from JLo or the decadent luxury of Chanel. This was warm woman. One who knew exactly how good a woman and a bit of lavender soap could smell without any additions.”

OK, nothing wrong with admiring the opposite sex, but this was just overboard. Needless to say, more WTF am I reading carries on with the First Lady nekid on the floor in the throes of passion with the Chief of Staff. I kid you not, this almost reads like a Jackie Collins novel.

The books ends with a big bang and I won’t spoil you with the big reveal on the end regarding who the baddie is because it’s so funny in a ‘are you kidding me’ way that I do believe this book can be reads for the LOLs. Oh, and towards the end, we’re led to believe that Emily and Mark are the hero and heroine, but then Peter, The President, kisses Emily two days after the WTF ending, and I quote Emily’s reaction, “Then he took her in his arms, there in the elegant boudoir of the Hay- Adams suite, and gave her the kiss she’d been craving with body, mind, and soul since before she could remember.”.

But it’s OK, in the next few sentences she realises they are just friends, and Mark and Emily live happily ever after and never get into trouble for fraternising with one another.

So if you’re expecting a decent romance with a serious story in the military, don’t pick up this book.

I give this a D- for the ridiculousness of the plot. Yes I’m harsh, but I expect better of a publisher to publish this when it’s so far off base regarding the military lifestyle where the heroine is taken off duty to become a personal chef/bodyguard. No matter how crazy the plot, it’s quite insulting.

Comments

I totally agree with everything you said, but I absolutely loved this book. However, I never expected realism. I went into the book expecting over the top. Kinda like a Jerry Bruckheimer summer blockbuster – check in your brain at the door and watch the pretty explosions. LOL. I really wanted a ‘guy’s military (porn) fiction’, but with a female lead and some smut, so this totally worked for me with that mindset.

But I totally agree with

…if you’re expecting a decent romance with a serious story in the military, don’t pick up this book.

@Lou: Yes! absolutely LOL moments. I mean I was thinking, “What next? Is she going to cure cancer or bring peace to the Middle East?” So I totally sympathize if you were expecting serious, because this is definitely over the top, bordering on a campy popcorn movie. I think if serous had been my frame of mind when I started, I would have tossed my reader against the wall and stomped on it.

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